Harvard deal with Trump could hurt left-wing credibility

John Sexton writes for HotAir.com about Harvard’s conflicted response to the Trump administration.

There were hints last week that something was up between the Trump administration and Harvard. Harvard won in court last Friday and instead of attacking the judge, as Trump tends to do, he posted this positive statement suggesting a deal with Harvard was imminent.

“If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be ‘mindbogglingly’ HISTORIC, and very good for our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Did that mean a legal settlement in the two cases Harvard has filed against the Trump administration? Maybe but not necessarily according to the Harvard Crimson. It might just mean a broader deal was being worked out outside of the courts. This was too much for some of the Harvard alums who wrote an open letter Monday to the school begging it not to make a deal with Trump.

Harvard alumni, through Crimson Courage, whose mission is to stand up for academic freedom, sent an open letter to Harvard administrators on Monday morning calling for the institution to resist caving into the federal government.

“We cannot stand for “veritas” if we refuse to stand up for truth when the moment demands it or if we dilute our values because it is expedient,” said the community of Harvard alumni…

“Harvard has benefited from our early embrace of academic freedom as seen in its world-class research as well as its graduates’ civic and business leadership across the world. Standing strong is not merely an operational exercise: it is a moral imperative,” Crimson Courage said.

“The world is watching and needs Harvard’s leadership and courage now,” the organization said.

This is the voice of left-wing alumni who are presumably all well off thanks in part to their Harvard degrees. It costs them nothing to insist that Harvard double down on resistance politics. Meanwhile, Harvard actually has a lot of skin in this game and, behind the scenes, it has been dawning on them that this is probably a battle they can’t win.

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